IDPs (ACF) - PFEDA / Page d'accueil PFEDA

help in the interpretation of results of the Nutritional Survey and has been included in
Annex 2.
The Nutritional Survey took place at the time when the 1 st rainy season was in process
(the ‘Gu’ season). This year the rains have arrived in Mogadishu, as in everywhere else in
the country. As the population of Mogadishu has become increasingly reliant on
agricultural activities, this may have some significance in the survey results, as it
correlates with a time of a traditional ‘Hunger Gap’ – i.e. the period prior to harvesting.
Market prices of sorghum and maize, stable parts of the diet of the population, have
increased during the period prior to the Nutritional Survey by around 3%. This first half
of the year (January – June), is in addition, corresponding with the period of time when
there is the majority of the admissions into the ACF TFCs (see Annex 2).
The Cholera outbreak was just starting to tail off during the Nutritional Survey. This
assumption corresponded with both the traditional period for the end of the Cholera
outbreak, and the statistics for the Cholera Treatment Centres in the town (all of which
were reducing).
Although its extremely difficult to say with any certainty, a hypothesis could be made
that the IDP population is likely to be more vulnerable than the normal resident
population of the town of Mogadishu. Their income generating activities are limited (See
Annex 2 – for income generating activities of IDPs and how much each activity pays).
What better possibilities for employment that there are in the city are generally taken by
the resident population. (Ref: Broudic, C., 1997, Socio – Economic Context of the
Vulnerable Population in Mogadishu, Nairobi, ACF).
In ACFs 4 TFCs in Mogadishu, IDPs are twice as likely to frequent the TFCs as residents
of Mogadishu (IDPs comprising approximately 20% of the population make up globally
45% of the admissions in the 4 TFCs).
The IDP population was consequently chosen as the target group for the ACF Nutrition
survey for the following reasons:
- Security and Access, the presence of ACF in these camps for an extended
period of time meant that they were considered safe to visit.
- Overall, this group was considered to represent a part of the population that
was likely to be affected by malnutrition.
Population figures for Mogadishu vary considerably depending with who they are
discussed. ACF based its population figures on available information from the Elders, the
ACF Water and Sanitation team, and, the ACF Health Education team. The IDP
population of Mogadishu has built up considerably over the last 10 years. Their reasons
for displacement are varied, but drought, famine and war have all had an important part
to play in the last few years.
It was estimated that 237,000 people live in the IDP camps in and around Mogadishu;
approximately 135,000 of them (57% of the IDP population) were included in the survey.
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